The Organ Grinder (The Hurdy Gurdy Man)
Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685)
Ref. 475
Etching, 1647, a fair impression with some wear
Plate: 10.5 x 9 cm
Provenance: Phillips, London, 6 September 1976
Literature: Godefroy 8 ; Bartsch, Hollstein XV.9.8 The hurdy gurdy is a two-toned instrument (the melody s complemented by fixed tones). It was popular with itinerant beggars in the Low Countries in the seventeenth century and is often seen in depictions of country feasts and fairs